It was reported on October 28, 2020, that the Maharashtra government has withdrawn ‘general consent,’ given to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe cases in the state. Therefore, the central agency will now have to get consent from the state government for every case it registers. However, the withdrawal of general consent to the CBI will not impact cases which the CBI is already investigating, like the Sushant Singh Rajput case. This decision shows Maharashtra government’s worries related to the Special Crimes Division (SCD), which took over the probe into the alleged TRP scam, in which Republic TV is also one of the five channels being investigated.
Why the Government is so Worried
The CBI took over a case of manipulation of TRPs, registered by the Uttar Pradesh police on October 27. The Maharashtra government feared the CBI would attempt to take over the case under political pressure, including in its purview the case probed by the Mumbai Police. Another reason for the government’s worry was the Sushant Singh Rajput case, which had been taken over by the CBI. In this case, the Mumbai Police was probing the death (suicide) of the actor. Meanwhile, the Bihar Police registered an FIR based on the statement of Rajput’s father. As a result, the case was quickly handed over to the CBI. But the difference between the Rajput case and the TRP case is that Mumbai Police had not registered an FIR in Rajput’s case because of suicide, whereas in the case of TRP scam, the Mumbai Police has not only registered an FIR, but has also arrested eight persons. Also, the Editor-in-chief of the Republic TV, Arnab Goswami, had earlier approached the Supreme Court to transfer the probe to the CBI, but the apex court asked him to approach the Bombay High Court. So, if the Supreme Court asks the CBI to take over the Mumbai Police investigation into the TRP case, the state government cannot refuse.
Impact of the Decision on Other Cases
Now the question is whether this decision will have any impact on other cases, such as the Bhima Koregaon case or the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case against Deputy CM Ajit Pawar in the irrigation scam? The answer is ‘No’, because the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has jurisdiction across the country and does not need special permission from state governments. For example, the NIA took over the Bhima Koregaon case in spite of being under review by the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Likewise, the decision would not affect the irrigation scam under the ED as the ED conducts its probe under the PMLA and FERA Act, and has nothing to do with the Delhi Police Special Establishment (DPSE) Act which gives power to the CBI.
Therefore, the consent under the DPSE Act will only impact the CBI by increasing work for both the CBI and the state government. Every time the CBI traps some central government employee taking a bribe, it will need to seek approval from the Maharashtra government before registering a case. Similarly, the Maharashtra government department too will be burdened with approval requests on a case-by-case basis.
Calcutta High Court Judgement
Recently, the CBI has started taking recourse in a Calcutta High Court judgement, which states that the central government/CBI’s power to investigate and prosecute its own officials cannot be in any way impeded or interfered by the state even if the offenses were committed within the territory of the state.
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Branches of CBI
The CBI is divided into three branches when it comes to investigation. The Anti-Corruption Division investigates cases against public servants under the control of the central government, public servants in public sector undertakings, also under the control of the central government, cases against public servants working under state governments, which have been entrusted to the CBI by the state, and serious departmental irregularities committed by the above mentioned.
The Economic Offences Division looks into financial crimes, bank frauds, money laundering, illegal money market operations, graft in PSUs, and banks.
The Special Crimes Division takes up cases of conventional nature like offences relating to internal security, espionage, sabotage, narcotics and psychotropic substances, antiquities, murders, dacoities/robberies, and cheating among others. This unit is seeing the Rajput’s case.
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, came into force with effect from 1st July, 2005. It prescribes obligation of banking companies, financial institutions and intermediaries for verification and maintenance of records of the identity of all its clients and also of all transactions and for furnishing information of such transactions in prescribed form to the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND), and empowers the Director of FIU-IND to impose fine on banking company, financial institution or intermediary if there is any non-compliance of the provisions of the Act.
Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) is a legislation, which regulates certain dealings in foreign exchange, imposes restrictions on certain kinds of payments and monitors the transactions impinging the foreign exchange and the import and export of currency.
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Courtesy: Indian Express, https://dor.gov.in